Beltane Fever
by idyllic nocturne
Summary: Beka has a fever, one Beltane night. Who but our brilliant Rosto will come and help? Spoilers for the very end of Terrier.


**A/N:** Nya! My first TP oneshot, dedicated to Emily. Just 'cause she didn't think I could finish any of my Tamora Pierce stories.

**Summary:** Beka has a fever, one Beltane night. Who comes to help? A BxR oneshot set soon after Terrier.

**Word count:** 1,040 (not including this jabber)

**Disclaimer:** Done by Pounce/Faithful!

_Purr meow mrt hiss nya._ (Lioness doesn't own me, nor any other Tamora Pierce reference.)

**A/N:** Whelpers, enjoy! Nya! (Japanese for "meow.")

Beltane Fever

"Beltane in Corus was really something tonight, wasn't it? Well, good night, Beka," Aniki said, leaning casually against the wall of the hallway as Beka unlocked the bolt.

"Yeah, 'night."

Aniki's brows knit together in worry as she watched her friend. "Try to sleep that fever out, or else we'll have to call a healer in the morning." Beka gave a short laugh in response, before disappearing behind her wooden door.

Tossing and turning in her sleep, Beka rolled over onto Pounce, pinning him in the process. Yowling in protest the whole time, he slipped out from under her. _Wake up!_ he bellowed into her ear, nudging the girl's face with his head. Beka's only response was a small whimper.

By now, the feline god was worried. _Beka?_ he called, the word unfamiliar to him. Pounce gave a cat's smirk as he realized he had never called anyone their name to their face. He shook his head once to clear the thought from his head as he nudged her face again.

Pounce noticed in alarm that Beka's breathing by now came fast and shallow. Making a quick decision, he snuck out of the room and down the stairs.

_Meow!_

"Wha'? Who's there?" Rosto's voice was slurred with sleep, but his eyes were quick as they darted around the room, trying to see who awoke him. Being killed in his sleep by some young rogue was unlikely, but not impossible. Especially when he was now _the_ Rogue.

Suddenly, purple orbs stared back at him. "Mithros! Gods-damn you, Pounce_, don't do that_."

_Stupid human, get up!_ Pounce shrieked. When the Scanran only stared at him in bewilderment, Pounce dug his claws into flesh. _I said, get up! Beka needs a healer, _now

"OW! Get your damn claws out of me, and I'll get up." Rosto lurched to his feet and followed the cat as he raced up the stairs. Instead of going back into Beka's rooms, however, Pounce waited impatiently outside of Aniki's rooms.

The cat nodded to the door. _Wake her up, and make her fetch a healer,_ Pounce commanded. _Not one of those foolish hedgewitches, either. A _proper_ healer._

Rosto shook his head, and knocked on the door. "At least Aniki won't shoot fire at me for waking her up," he muttered. Finally, Aniki appeared, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Rosto? Do you know what time it is, you idiot cove?" she asked with a yawn.

"Cooper needs a healer. Now."

Suddenly, the woman was wide-awake. "Me'n the cat'll go."

Rosto crept into the room, making his way over to where Beka was asleep on the floor. He watched her worriedly as her case continually worsened. "Aniki, you'd better hurry," he whispered into the darkness.

Suddenly, Beka let out a shriek. Her eyes flew open, but she kept dreaming. "Momma, come back! Momma! Lord Gershom's got healers commin' _good_ healers, Momma! Don't die, Momma, please don't die!," she howled in Cesspool cant as tears rushed down her face. Rosto grimaced. Delirium.

"Beka--Cooper, calm down," he whispered gently. Pounce trotted up, carrying a dripping cloth. Rosto placed it on the girl's sweating brow. It seemed to keep her quiet for now, at least.

"Come on, Cooper. You're too good a gixie to let a silly fever get you," he said, for his sake as much as hers, though it did little good. Beka was deteriorating quickly.

It wasn't long before Beka's hallucinations started up again. "D-_don't_!" she cried, startling Rosto. "Help me, please, help!" Her breathing quickened. "_Rosto_!"

This grabbed his attention as new wave of tears fell. "Rosto, help me! Please, help! They've got me!" Beka begged. Sobbing, she started to thrash around. "Rosto!" she shrieked.

Swiftly, he grabbed her wrists, pinning her down. "Beka, I'm right here!" he tried to assure her, struggling to keep her from flailing around again.

"Rosto, they have me. Keep them away! They're going to—Ahhh!" she screeched. Thinking of nothing else to keep her quiet, he covered her mouth with his. Beka's screams quickly faded, her thrashing stopped, though tears continued to form rivers down her face.

"I'm right here, you foolish gixie," he whispered into her ear. Slowly, she fell back into a more peaceful sleep. "And I'm staying by your side, whether you like it or not." Certain that Beka would survive the night, Rosto fell asleep, right by her side.

"Rosto, you stupid cove, wake up," Aniki's voice came as a sharp whisper.

"Huh?" he mumbled, his eyes struggling to make out shapes in the dark..

"If you don't want to be killed by Beka when she wakes up, you are going to get up, and go back to your own room right now."

Finally, the room came into focus. Aniki was standing in the doorway, arms akimbo. His eyes widened slightly as he looked over and saw Beka sleeping soundly, her head on his chest.

"Did you hear me? I said, get up."

He blushed slightly. "I-uh-can't." He gestured to Beka, still asleep.

"You're the Rogue. Don't tell me you can't slip out, you spintry."

"All right, but if she wakes up, I'm using you as my shield." Rosto said as he slipped out from under the girl with ease. Her only reaction was to burrow deeper into her blankets. "Where were you last night, anyway? Did you look for a healer in Carthak?"

Aniki chuckled. "I brought one, but you and Beka were both asleep by the time we got here. You two looked so cute together, I left you the way you were." A small, wistful glance slipped past his defenses.

"Don't worry, she'll notice you someday," Aniki said, slinging her arm around his shoulder.

"But how long is it until 'someday?'"

Beka woke up, a small smile on her face. She felt exhausted, but she remembered a dream she had during her fever. At first, she was being sold to the slave traders screaming for Rosto to come to her aide. Then, she dreamt that he was by her bedside, helping her through her fever.

Beka blushed as she remembered what the Rosto in the dream had said to her. "_I'm right here, you foolish gixie. And I'm staying by your side, whether you like it or not._" She knew that by certain she would never tell anyone that she had dreamt of Rosto, but that phrase was just too comforting not to keep close to her heart.

**A/N:** Nya! Happy, happy, happy day! Aren't Beka and Rosto just perfect for each other? Oh, and in case you've forgotten some words, I've got a little dictionary here for ya.

**Dictionary:**

_Gixie_: girl

_Cove_: man/boy/male

_Spintry_: male prostitute ( - ) haha

**A/N:** So, there ya go. Whelpers, I'm tired, so this is Lioness of WEST SIDE signing off. For tonight, anyway. Garsh, I'm tired.


End file.
